196 HOBTICULTUEAL MANUAL. 



192. Orange Propagation. The writer has had no 

 experience in propagation except in the way of propagating 

 the Otaheite variety as a house plant. But the results 

 obtained by varied plans of propagation have been studied 

 in the orange-growing centres of Europe, California, 

 Florida, and Cuba, and the decisions of experts and 

 growers have been compared. 



As with other orchard fruits the best results have been 

 obtained in growing uniform, vigorous, and healthy trees 

 by using stocks for budding grown from seeds of fruits 

 near to Nature. In California, strong, vigorous stocks 

 have come from seeds of the primitive oranges of Tahiti, 

 and also from the sour oranges yet found around the old 

 missions. In north California, hardy dwarf stocks have 

 been used grown from the varieties imported by Gen- 

 eral Chabot from north Japan. And also the relatively 

 hardy and primitive Citrus trifoliata has been used quite 

 extensively. The rough lemon also seems to give addi- 

 tional hardiness and inherent vitality to varieties worked 

 upon it. 



Since the freeze of 1894-95 in Florida and the Gulf 

 States, the main stocks used have been the rough lemon 

 and Citrus trifoliata. But farther south the sour-orange 

 seedlings are mainly used. Those who have had a long 

 experience in propagating the northern orchard fruits are 

 surprised to find the citrus fruits so tenacious of life and 

 easy to propagate in so many ways. Aside from liability 

 to fatal injury by severe cold, we have no northern fruit 

 tree so tenacious of life. Even where the top is wholly 

 killed by fire or freezing and the roots show no sign of life 

 or growth for a year or more, vigorous sprouts will finally 

 appear. It is even said that trunks of quite old orange- 

 trees that have lain as ballast in the holds of vessels for a 

 month or more have grown into fine trees when planted 



